Door lock



Patented Feb.' 1o, 1942 y UNITED sTATEsTPArl-:

. nooRvLocK.- Y .y 'George Douglas'Cloutier and.` Floyd A. Cooley, .i

Detroit, Mich.; assigner-s to Ternstedt Manux facturingcompany, Detroit,.Mich., a corpora- Itionof Michigan Application Maren 2o, 1940, serial Ne. 324,932

s Claims; (ci. 'zo-149) This invention relates to-a door latch, particu-,

larly for use in bodiesof automotive vehicles.;

Among the objects of the invention is the provision of a simple'latch construction whichembodies a relatively small number of parts, but

which performs the vdesired functions'and operations inregards to .the manipulation of a door,l

Figyils e somewhat ingremmeney view illus- Y trating the interior of a door of an automobile both from the inside andthe outside.` and in re-fjgards to lockingthe door. constructionv advantageously employs a -'bolt mounted so that its'exposed part r'noveslength To these ends. the

wise lof the free edge orpost ofthe door.. or at. least having a component of motion in this direc: r

tion, and thus this structure isuSful in a. com-` bination where ythe bolt engages with a. dovetail or buier member. The yboli; is preferably ofthe pivoted type, andthe arrangement embodies operating means for direct shift of the bolt from tractor. l

The structure alsovembodies means'for'locking y thearrangement so that the bolt cannot be `re-` tracted by the outside handleI and this is done by rendering the interm`ediate retractor ineffecthe inside ofthe vehicle hody-An outsidehancue, f

that is outside of the body, is arranged to func-- tion on the bolt vth'rough'an intermediatere tive. As a result; auneugn the boit maybe aetu.. ated from the interior ofthe vehicle at anytime.`y the outside handle, acting through the retractor maybe made ineffective upon thekbolti However,

an arrangement. is provided where the retractor is automatically piacedin an`operative position,

or in other Words, made leffective by the natural movement of the bolt which takes placeupon the closing of adoor. yAs a result,` anytimethe door is closed, unless `the operator de'ilniteiymakes 4a movement to prevent the same, the lockstructure is rendered operative andthe .door can be Eng. 91s View Showing.

l.body with the rlock' and inside operating handlekt indicated; 'i 5,

Fig. 2f is therelative positionsoi the parts,

Fig.- 3 isla face .vli'ew of a mounted on' thefpilla-r ott'he door. 2

jFignl is a view showing ythe lock a normallatched position. j

Fig. 8 Iis a `viewindicatingthe automatic -shift I fof-.theretractoritoeifective position which occurs upon closing theidoor.

the retractor as it may be operated either from the insideor outside; l y.

'The door of an. automobile body is .generally illustrated at I, andvv the door lock or latch is gen` erallyindicated .at 2. An `inside handle 3 is suit-` ably Lconnected to thelockby means of a rod or .strap `4, while a suitable means lfor controlling the n lock is illustrated inthe form of a button 5 nro Ajectingthrough the molding of thewindow opening and connected lthrough the means cfa-rod 8.

[The handle 3 and the operating piece5 maybe. a

otherwise positioned on'the,door,`these items be-l ing yshown as indicatedfor exemplaryv purposes opened through the means of the outside handle..

However, the association between the outside handle and the retractor is at no time disturbed; with the result that the outside handle may be actuated to shift the retractor in such a manner of the door, and in this event the door is effectively locked upon itsclosing; that is, it is locked against operation through the meansof the outside handle. ,'Theaccomplishmentof these `reber or shaft il. i Amost is shown at i2 against which they doorcloses, and a dovetailvorwedger-fshaped member l3`maybe mounted upon'the that it is not actedu'pon by the bolt in the closing f f f f suits through the means of a simplified construcf tion will be. appreciated asxthe detaileddescription progresses, and other objects and results will likewise be more fully understood upona` considl eration of suchr detailedA description. 'AnV arrangement for carrying out the invention" is shown in the accompanying drawings.

As shown in Fig. 2, the door I 'has ane outside handle 1 with its rocker 'shaft-Bland a key cylinder!! operable by a key I0 to'roc a rocker. mempost.v

In the edge ory post portion Hof thedoormayl be mounted a dovetail-socket 20 provided with a notch 2|. The male dovetail member I3 enters thedovetail socket upon closing of the door. The socket may includeia shoe 22 actedupon bya coill springt 23, and siidable on aplate y2l backed by a yielding cushion 25 which may be ablook of rubber. j Fig. showsv the kmale member I3v entering the "socket and it strikes the shoe 22, which4 is pushed rearwardly-against `the spring. 23, the same vsliding ontheeplate 24 in turnI yleldingly a" harizontal sectional view taken through the 'doorand adjacent* post illustrating y dovetau r'secret e f structure* in milarxtc Fig-4 showing parts' actuatedV to releasey the boltthrouglnthe the locked pesiuon of backed by the block 25. The male dovetail member has one or more notches I5 and I6 for the reception of the bolt which functions in the slot 2l.

The lock structure generally indicated at 2 and as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, has a frame 30 designed to be secured to the door structure, and a bolt 3l is pivotally mounted on the frame as at 32. A coil spring 33 normally serves to hold the bolt urged in a clockwise direction. The connection 4 is connected to the bolt on a rivet or projection 34 through the means of an elongated opening 35. A rollback 36 is mounted on. the rocker member 8 of the outside handle. The key operated rock shaft I'I is connected to an operating piece 31 somewhat in the shape of a reversed C as Fig. 4 is viewed. The bolt has an extending plece 36 and a finger or cam element'39.

A slidable retractor member 40 is mounted on a headed projection or rivet 4I through the means of an elongated opening, as shown, and it has a projection 42 lying within the opening of the member 31. The retractor member likewise has an embossment 43, and it is arranged to be held in either of its two positions by an over-center spring. This spring is a coil spring 45, having one end located in an aperture 46 in the retractor and the other end as at 41 positioned in an aperture in the frame plate. A springv 49 acts upon the retractor and holds it against the roliback 36. The bolt 3| has an end part 46 which extends into the socket of the female dovetail member as shown in Fig. 3 and is arranged to cooperate with the member I3; that is, it is arranged to catch in one of the notches I5 and I6.

When the door is closed, the part 4l of the bolt may catch in the n'otch I6. The notch I5 may merely be a safety catch in case the door is not completely closed. In normal position the parts may be substantially as shownin Fig. 1. To release the latch by means of the outside handle, that handle is turned counter-clockwise from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 5. The rollback 36 engages and rocks the the retractor 40; the embossment 43 engages the part 38 of the bolt and swings it counter-clockwise and thus raises the part 46 out of either the notch I5 or the notch I6. The lost play connection at 34-35 permits this action without movement of the inside handle. The bolt may be released at any time by means of the inside handle without moving the retractor or the rollback.

To condition the arrangement so that the bolt cannot be operated by the outside handle, the retractor 40 is shifted. Figs. 7 and 9 show the retractor so positioned. By means of the key III the actuator 31 may be turned counter-clockwise as the views appear, and the actuator engages the finger 42 and shifts the retractor to its lower position as shown in Fig. 7. It will be understood that the actuator 31 is always returned toits normal position as shown in Fig. 4. N'ow upon rotation counter-clockwise of the rollback 36 the retractor is similarly shifted, but the embossment 43 is disaligned from the part 38 and therefore does not rock the bolt. Thus the outside handle is rendered ineffective. By turning the actuator 31 in the reverse direction through the means of the ,key III, the retractor may be elevated back to the position shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. 'I'he retractor may also be lowered or elevated by the actuator piece 5 and the connection 6. It will be seen that thespring 45 holds the actuator in either position, because the end of the spring in the aperture 46 is above 75 the end -4`I in one position and below in the other position, with the greatest amount of tension on the spring when the aperture 46 is approximately in horizontal alignment with the end 41 of the spring.

Any time the door is closed without a predetermined manipulation of the outside handle, the bolt 3| is caused to swing by reason of its engagement with the dovetail I3. If the retractor is in its lower or locked position, the embossment 43 is substantially in contact with the projection 39 (Fig. 9), and the rocking of the bolt elevates the retractor after the manner shown in Fig. 8. If it should be desired to place the parts in a locked position by the actuator 5, and then desired to,close the door, maintaining the parts in this locked position, the outside handle 1 may be turned to cause the rollback to swing to a position where it will not be engaged by the finger 33. Then upon closing of the door, the rocking of the bolt does not elevate the retractor, with the result that the door is locked against outside operation. When the retractor is in locked position, it may be shifted to its operative position by actuation oi the bolt by the inside handle. k

We claim: y

A1. In a lock for a door, a pivotally mounted bolt for cooperation with a keeper, an outside handle having a rollback, an inside handle having a lost motion connection with the bolt, and a retractor member for engaging the bolt and roll back, said retractor member being slidably mounted on a pivot pin about which it can at all times be pivoied by the rollback of the outer handle, and means independent oi' the handles to slide the retractor member alternatively to a position in which it is capable of transmitting movement of the outside handle to the bolt and to a position in which it is ineffective so to do.

A2. In a coach lock, the combination of a casing, a bolt movable therein, a rollback for an outside handle for retracting the bolt, a retracting lever which is both pivotally and slidably supported upon the casing and having the free swinging end located between the rollback and a portion of the bolt and a spring for keeping the retracting lever yieldably bearing against the rollback, the said retracting lever in one position of its longitudinal shift being freely swingable by the movement of the rollback without contacting `with the bolt and, in the other position of shift, the said lever adapted to contact with the bolt when the rollback turns to retract the bolt.

3. In a coach lock, the combination of a casing, a bolt movable therein, a rollback for an outside handle for retracting the bolt and a retracting lever which is both pivotally and slldably supported upon the casing and having the free swinging end located between and arranged to directly contact the rollback and a portion of the bolt, the said retracting lever in one position of its longitudinal shift being freely swingable by the movement of the rollback without contacting with the bolt and, in the other position of shift. the said lever adapted to contact with the bolt when the rollback turns to retract the bolt.

4. In a coach lock, the combination of a casing, a bolt movabler therein, a rollback for an outside handle for retracting the bolt, a retracting lever which is both pivotally and siidably supported upon the casing and having the free swinging -end located between and arranged to contact the rollback and a portion of the bolt, the said retracting lever in one position of its longitudinal .the rollback n a boltxnovable ther ein,a

' upon 1th shifting theiever11eng1tuqma11y to .im

, A l f 2,27a,`1e7f,2y shift lbeing freely svvingable by the movexma'nt K of without. contacting with the bolt and,in the other position'of shift;` thegsaid-lever adapted to contact, witnrthe ,bon wnenfthey rou,-

back turns tojretractthe boltand a'keyeoperated actuator Afor shiftingy the n levei` longitudinally 5. In a coach lock, the combination of acasing,

handle -for yretracting the which is yboth pivotally and slidablyjsupported ot/the bolt,'the. said retractinglever in one posis L u tion l'gfkits longitudinal shift being `freely 'swing-5VK 1 ablefbyy the movement of ei*,lie"rollback without:

contacting with the boltand, invv the otherk posivtion lof shift, the -s'aidlever adapted to contact` with the bolt when the rollback turns to yretx'i'tct g the bolt and an actinttoxil manually operable'v for. t

W10k P0- zo sitions.

, 6.'In a 'coach lockgftheconibinationofe. eas.;

ing, a bolt movable therein,` arrollback fox`anlout-- f side handle forjretactin'g the qbiolt,-la retracting :leves which Ais bothpiv'tallyj and slidablyl supf ported uponfthe casing andhavingthe free swing-l ingv end located between the rollback and aporvtion 'of fthe boltgfther saidetractingl lever in one rollback for an t outside y v bolt, a i'etractingv leveijv '10 `casing and having the freeswingins 1 end'locatedbetweenthe'rollback -and a portion f fout contacting with ',posititm of*v its "lon'gitudinalfschift fbeingieely' the :lever lon'gi'tu,clin'allyjy toits two cam'on the bolt for each time the 

